changing network interface names

When changing network cards, or moving drives to a new computer, the network interfaces will be assigned new names (eth0, eth1, etc). This is so that the interfaces will retain their names between boots but not clash with other interfaces (on the assumption that the old ones may be only temporarily missing). However, if the new interface is a replacement for the old one, it is often more convenient to reuse the same name that the old one had.

These interface names are configured in the SUBSYSTEM lines of /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net-rules, with devices identified by their MAC address. Obsolete lines can be simply deleted, and the NAME parameter changed as desired.